Proud Americans*

I am a proud American.

It was quite a surprise to discover that fact after I moved to Kenya. This country here, living in Kenya, I had expected to learn numerous things about myself, about the country, and I have been learning a lot about myself and Kenya itself, what I did not expect to find was my American pride. One of the missions of Peace Corps was to share American culture with the country I’m serving in, and in the process of talking about the United States of America, I started to say, wait, it is indeed a great country.

Last year I had a great year living in the States, traveling all over, living in Colorado, three weeks on the Pacific Coast Highway, two fantastic months in Washington State with the brother and sister-in-law, I knew I lived in a beautiful country. I also knew that I lived in one of the best countries to be Deaf in – the American with Disabilities (ugh) Act of 1990 as well as IDEA and various other laws allowed me to be the person I am right now. Regardless of The Year Off, and the election of the first president of color, I still had an internal struggle in saying that I was an American.

I hated that our government was looked as imperialistic (that it acted imperialistic), I hated that the American currency and economy is considered a huge influence in the global community. I hated that the United States of America is considered as a superpower. I hated the stereotypical Hollywood movies displaying what the American should be. I remember traveling to Europe with my old college roommates who lived there and apologizing for being American.

Moving to Kenya, joining the Peace Corps, an organization that is not by any means perfect (hey, they kicked out one of my favorite volunteers – one of the best all around volunteers, in my opinion) but an organization that displays the innovativeness, the independence, and confidence that makes up an American. Peace Corps made me think about what it means to be American, and how we represent our country. Throughout the past months, talking about Kenya and America, going through the stereotypes that Kenyans had of Americans (seriously, people, World Wrestling Federation and Chuck Norris – I’ll explain in another entry. Seriously.), I realized that my country is not at all a bad of a place to live.

*Here’s holding out hope that someone caught the PREACHER reference …